Guard Horse Gunners

I ran out of time over the weekend to post these, so I'm doing it on a Monday night instead.

If there's the one thing I've learned from playing Muskets & Marshals, it's that it's very important to have a strong gun line. My latest effort in this direction is pictured below.

They're all beautifully crisp examples of vintage Hinton Hunt French Horse Artillery of the Guard, being codes:

FN 180: Officer pointing;
FN 181: Gunner with porte-fire;
FN 182: Gunner ramming home; and
FN 183: Gunner carrying cannon ball.

I even have a little Hinton Hunt gun to go with them that ought to be ready by next weekend.

Best regards

WM

Scruby Tuesday 2

I have a few more Scruby 25mm Napoleonic samples to show off.

Most clearly have the word 'Scruby' written on the underside of their bases. They also various hard-to-make-out numbers inscribed on them, but these seem to bear no relation whatsoever to the HistoriFigs Scruby 25mm Napoleonic catalogue, so I cannot confirm if these same figures are potentially available from HistoriFigs.

First up are what I believe to be a French light infantry voltigeur (although he might conceivably be a Nassauer), a Russian infantryman, and a French light infantry carabinier.

Second up are three French Guard or line grenadiers, being a drummer, an officer and a grenadier in a sort of 'at the ready' pose. Their coat skirts are all a little on the short side, but they are really nice figures in my opinion, and the officer in particular is a splendid figure.

That's it for Scrubys for the time being, but there will almost certainly be some more at some point!

Cheers

WM

Scruby Tuesday

Well it's Tuesday in New Zealand, although I suspect this hasn't yet happened for much of the rest of the planet.

My last post featuring Aly's wonderful Scrubys generated a fair bit of interest in things Scrubywise, so by special request I'm posting a few of the Scruby cavalry which I've picked up along the way.

These Polish Lancers are proper old campaigners:

As shown below, the horses have a faint trace of a bridle on their faces, but are otherwise completely nude. The lancer's portmanteau is simply moulded onto his bum!

I'm told there are other types of horse, however, which have reins moulded onto them, and that not every type of Scruby cavalry trooper is quite so lightly equipped. Scruby French dragoons, for example, are moulded with the troopers sitting  astride proper saddles and shabraques. 

I may even Scruby do these lancers some day, if I can find another pair of them.

WM

Bring Me Sunshine

I promised something really special a couple of weeks ago and so here it is. It's the absolutely stunning Neuchatel Battalion painted by Alastair Morrison. The figures are all from the iconic 25mm Napoleonic range produced by Jack Scruby in the early 1960s.

When Aly published these on his Aly's Toy Soldiers blog a wee while ago, he mentioned that he'd decided to replace them. As I've been hankering after some Scrubys for ages, I asked him if I could have them, and he gave them to me.

These particular figures are the remastered 25mm Scrubys available from Historifigs in the United States. They are the most beautifully hard, clear and crisp castings, unlike the very soft and 'leady' figures originally sold by Jack. You can spot vintage Scubys a mile away in wargaming blogs because of all the excessively bent muskets!

Jack's 25mm range was designed to be compatible with Hinton Hunts, which these last two pictures demonstrate very well. The Neuchatels and the 3rd Swiss will make a spectacularly attractive brigade, I think. I'll also need to paint a commander for them, of course, and I've got just the fellow, as it happens. He'll be making an appearance in a week or two, with a bit of luck.

As the last photo shows, however, to make them fully compatible with my army I'll need to rebase them, so right after these photos were taken. off they went into a shallow warm bath to soak them off their bases.

Judging from the Historifigs 'Classic 25mm Armies' of the Napoleonic Wars' catalogue, the figures are:

3053: French Fusilier, advancing to the attack, x 10;
3054: French Voltigeur, advancing to the attack, x 12; and

3064: French Officer, shako, leading, x 2, with one converted by Aly into a standard bearer.

Thank you Aly. They're like a gloriously golden ray of sunshine, and I will treasure them.

WM

The Grand Review

At very long last I have finished the 8th Cuirassiers. It took two whole days to complete the final touches, which made me feel a little guilty yesterday as the weather was glorious. It was rubbish today though, so it was time well spent.

Marbot: General Nansouty has arrived with the cuirassiers, Sire.
Napoleon: He took his time! Very well, start the parade.

Nansouty: Cuirassiers! Let's show them what proper cavalry look like!

The 8th Cuirassiers defile past the assembled throng....

Nansouty: Nice one lads!

...and take up position on the right of the line.

Napoleon: Right then, time to thrash those Prussians!

The cuirassier figures are all vintage Hinton Hunt FN 102: Cuirassier Trooper, charging, with one converted into an officer and another as a trumpeter.

Lining them all up like that reminds me that I really need some more line regiments...

WM

Cuirassiers Coming Closer.....

I can scarcely believe that another week has shot by. Nevertheless, time was somehow found for painting and I'm pleased to report that the dreaded cuirassiers are finally nearing  completion.

Once again, it's really only the metallics and a few gauntlets and what not left to do, so I'm full of confidence that they'll be finished by next week.

Mind you, these have been an absolute curse so far, so anything could happen....

Yours, fingers crossed,

WM